Charlotte Senior Citizens Get No Respect...Streetcar Blues

Apparently Senior Citizens who reside in Charlotte-Mecklenburg county are worth nothing to local Politicians.

In fact it appears Mayor Anthony Foxx wants to sacrifice them for his little "Streetcar Named Desire" pipe dream.

Actually Foxx's ploy to raise property taxes seems more like a "Mayor McCrory Copycat Dream" (North Carolina's first Light Rail system was established under former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory's reign).

The City of Charlotte really has NO need or use for a Streetcar at this time, nevertheless since Foxx and his Democrat Political Hacks don't want to lose any Votes, they insist on spending $500 Million Dollars (mostly Property Taxes) to build it.

Thousands of Charlotteans are Unemployed yet Anthony Foxx wants to use Federal, State and Taxpayer dollars to make himself look good.

Yes I am well aware of the new EPA Air Quality/ Fuel Emission Standards.

However constructing a Streetcar which will only travel 1.5 miles in the Uptown area is NOT going to solve that problem!

Most Intelligent people agree that expanding the Light Rail to U.N.C.C. would be a better use of spending Federal, State and Taxpayer dollars.

It would also help to clean up Charlotte's Air Quality.

Furthermore since it would take longer to continue construction of the Light Rail expansion, this would create more long term Jobs for Unemployed Charlotteans.

Its all Politics folks! Nothing but Arrogance, Politics and Power.

(Sigh) Nevertheless....

It doesn't matter if Foxx cancels Senior Citizen Doctor trips (provided by CATS) which will probably cause the death of many Low Income, Black Senior Citizens due to lack of proper Medical Care.

Even though many of those same Senior Citizens voted Foxx into the Mayor's office.

Even though those same Senior Citizen Doctor trips could be paid via the use of Stimulus Money or other Federal funding.

How is it that Mayor McCrory kept the Senior Citizen Transportation program in place for years and Charlotte NEVER went broke?

Suddenly under Foxx's rule the City of Charlotte can no longer afford it?

Easy!

It doesn't matter because Mayor Anthony Foxx is a Narcissistic, Selfish Snob and HE DOESN'T REALLY GIVE A DARN!

Cutting that much needed program will help fund Foxx's 1.5 mile Streetcar project so that when Key National Democrat Leaders come to visit Charlotte he can stick out chest and brag:
"LOOK WHAT I DID".

Its all Politics folks! Nothing but Arrogance, Politics and Power.

That's okay because people always reap what they sow.

Just take a look at what happened to Corrupt Former Mayor of Baltimore Sheila Dixon who used Gift Cards allocated to help Baltimore's poorest citizens for her own use.

As the old saying goes "The bigger they are, the harder they fall".

Charlotteans take a hard look at Anthony Foxx and Charlotte's Future.

Chicago's Corrupt Politics at its finest folks!

This is another reason why I did NOT vote for Foxx.

Once again you can thank your friendly neighborhood newspaper the Charlotte Observer (community nickname: "Charlotte Disturber") for this bit of loveliness.

Mayor Foxx your Coldhearted, Selfish behavior will eventually cause you to reap what you sow.

I'm praying for you.

One More Thing:

Mayor Foxx and every Charlotte City Council Member who agrees with this foolishness should be voted out of Public Office as soon as possible.

NO MORE STRAIGHT TICKET VOTING!




 




Anthony Foxx & CATS To Cancel Senior Citizen Doctor Trips, Raise Fares



Bus and train riders may pay an extra quarter for a one-way ride starting in July, and the Charlotte Area Transit System is considering service cuts for the elderly and disabled to fill a nearly $2 million budget hole.

In addition, CATS is proposing to cut the historic trolley service through South End. That service uses replica trolley cars on weekends, and is mostly used by tourists and families.

CATS also said Wednesday the possible opening of the light-rail extension to University City could be pushed back past 2019 because the transit system may not have enough money. Three years ago, CATS said the 11-mile extension might open by 2013.

The grim forecast is due to the recession, which has led to consumers' cutting back on spending. That has led to a decline in revenue from the half-cent sales tax for transit, which is an important source of revenue for CATS.

Last year, CATS projected the half-cent sales tax would generate about $270 million less over the next decade than was projected in 2006. Now the transit system estimates the shortfall will grow: $349 million over the next 10 years.

CATS proposes raising its local one-way bus and Lynx Blue Line fare to $1.75 from $1.50.

The transit system last raised fares in 2008 due to high fuel prices. That increase raised the one-way fare from $1.30 to $1.50. In the summer of 2007, CATS raised its one-way local fare from $1.20 to $1.30.

CATS policy is to consider raising fares every two years so customers won't have to face steep increases at once. But if the proposed fare increase for 2010 is approved by the Metropolitan Transit Commission, a one-way fare will have risen 46 percent since 2007.

The cost of monthly and weekly passes will also increase. Overall, the fare increase is expected to generate an extra $2.5 million annually.

Carolyn Flowers, CATS' new chief executive, said Wednesday she'll look at reducing special service for the elderly and the disabled to save money.

CATS is required by the federal government to provide special service for those who live near local bus routes. But CATS has for several years provided rides for people who live outside those areas, and is now considering cutting that service. CATS carried just under 3,400 of those rides last year.

The transit system is also proposing cutting a $1.07 million grant to Mecklenburg's Department of Social Services for giving taxicab rides to the elderly and the disabled to jobs or the grocery store. CATS has said DSS could apply for federal grants to offset the lost funding.

That nonscheduled service is considered critical for its riders, but it's also expensive. Some rides cost the transit system $25.

"We are looking at all of our cost structure," said Flowers, who came to CATS from the Los Angeles transit system. "Our focus is trying to sustain our core service."

In the fall of 2007, as Mecklenburg voters debated whether to keep or repeal the half-cent sales tax, CATS warned that repealing the tax would dramatically impact special service for the elderly and disabled.

If the fare increase and the service cuts are approved by the MTC in April, CATS said it will be able to maintain the same number of regular bus and rail service hours that it offers today.

Some members of the MTC were concerned about raising fares in the midst of a recession.

"I'd like to see other options instead of a fare increase," said Davidson Mayor John Woods, who said CATS should study additional service cuts.

CATS isn't in danger of running an overall deficit.

But the transit system tries to sock away money each year for long-term construction projects such as the light-rail extension and the planned commuter rail line to Lake Norman. CATS believes it will be able to save $20.6 million for this fiscal year, which ends in June. Earlier in the year, CATS projected it would have $22 million this year for capital projects.

Flowers said she doesn't want to shift that capital money for today's operating costs.

"You still want to try to build for the future," Flowers said. "If you start nibbling away at your future, you won't have any revenue set aside for capital projects."

After opening the Lynx Blue Line at the end of 2007, CATS has faced a number of obstacles.

The first came in the summer of 2008, when fuel prices spiked to $4 a gallon for consumers. That led CATS to make an unplanned fare increase.

In the fall of 2008, the local economy began to worsen, CATS struggled with lower half-cent sales tax revenue.

Last March, CATS made $4million in service cuts, including cutting six routes and reducing how frequently light-rail trains arrive at rush hours.

Ridership has also suffered due to lower fuel prices and high unemployment.

Overall transit ridership for CATS is down 10 percent for the first six months of the current fiscal year compared with the same period in 2008.

In fall 2007, CATS said it could begin multiple transit lines over the next two decades, including a light-rail extension, commuter rail, streetcar and either a busway or light-rail down Independence Boulevard.

Though that's still officially the plan, it's likely that CATS will be able to build only one of those projects before it runs out of money.

The city of Charlotte has taken the lead in building a streetcar through central Charlotte. The city is applying for a federal grant to build a 1.5-mile starter line on Trade Street, which will cost $1.5 million annually to operate.

The city has said CATS could help pay for those operating costs. Flowers said Wednesday that's not an option.

"Clearly it won't be CATS," Flowers said. "We aren't budgeting it and we aren't planning to budget it."






City Of Charlotte Requests $25M Grant For Streetcar


Charlotte City Council put the wheels in motion Monday night, voting to request a grant for the streetcar project.

The vote passed 7-4 with council's three Republicans and Democrat Warren Turner voting against the measure.

The $25 million federal grant would go toward a 1.5-mile section from Elizabeth Avenue to the transportation center on Trade Street in uptown.

Charlotte would have to come up with another $12 million to pay for construction. Some have questioned that spending.

"You're not doing your job. You're not looking after the people's money. And you're not looking at the facts that we don't (have) cash to run this thing," said council member Andy Dulin.

The city expects to learn this summer if Charlotte wins the federal grant. Construction would start next year and the streetcar could be running in 2013.



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Sources: McClatchy Newspapers, Charlotte Observer, WCNC, Baltimore Sun, Meck Deck, John Locke Foundation, Charmeck.org, Google Maps